Flood victims find strength in faith

Hundreds at service with bishop in Belmar

Nov. 5, 2012

Cindy Cama of Belmar (center) and Bea Dunn of the Shark River Hills section of Neptune are among the parishioners who packed a Sunday Mass at the Church of St. Rose in Belmar. / Jason Towlen/Staff Photographer

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BELMAR — Maryanne Kain lost everything on the first floor of her Shark River Hills home.

All of her furniture, appliances and rugs were destroyed when Hurricane Sandy flooded her house with 2 feet of water. Emergency workers used a rope to pull her family to safety.

“We just walked right out into the water, and when I went out, the water was up to my waist,” Kain said. “It was quite humbling.”

Still mourning her losses, Kain sat in a pew among hundreds of people Sunday morning at the Church of St. Rose, where Diocese of Trenton Bishop David M. O’Connell said Mass.

Parishioners and community members packed the sanctuary for a service that was both somber and uplifting. The church, still without power, was cold and dim. Lights hooked to generators lit the pulpit.

O’Connell encouraged the community to unite and help one another.

“We are going to get through this,” O’Connell said. “We are full of doubts, but we never despair. Lucky for us there is more good, and there is more joy, and there is more happiness in life, than there is the opposite.”

Emergency workers, including police, firefighters, water rescue teams and first aid workers, sat in the front rows and received a lengthy round of applause from the congregation.

“We are so grateful for you,” O’Connell said.

Many of the church’s 2,200 parishioners lost their homes, have property damage or are still without power, said Monsignor Edward Arnister.

The neighborhood surrounding the church had 3 to 4 feet of water flooding it last week. Some residents used kayaks to get to their homes.

On Sunday morning, crews drained the church’s flooded basement and the neighboring St. Rose High School, which suffered water damage. Piles of debris and leaves line the streets along Seventh Avenue and E Street.

“Words could not describe the destructive power nature has done,” Arnister said. “The love of Christ will keep us warm.”

The past week has been rough for Bernice McCallister, 65, of Neptune City. The nights are getting colder, and she has yet to see power restoration in her apartment complex. When she learned O’Connell was to speak at St. Rose, she wanted to attend Mass for encouragement.

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“Last night, I felt like I was freezing,” McCallister said. “I’m a senior, and I’m alone, so it’s hard.”

Pat Schofield of 13th Avenue is fortunate to have a wood stove, gas stove and a gas heater in her home.

She had about 8 to 10 inches of water in her basement. Some of her neighbors lost everything.

Schofield has opened her home to neighbors in need of warmth and hot showers.

“It’s devastating, but the people in Belmar are just amazingly kind to one another,” Schofield said before Mass started.

Parishioners like Jean Reilly still have not returned to their homes.

Reilly and her 4-year-old daughter have been staying with a relative since evacuating their house on Third Avenue. Reilly left her husband, Patrick Ross, behind to protect the home.